First Week of School!

I never truly understood the truth behind the phrase "time flies" until this week came...and was gone, just like that. I never imagined the first week of school would pass by so quickly! I'm glad it's Friday though because this week has worn me out completely! I'm surprised I'm still awake to blog, but blogging is my release! Ha! I stayed 'til at least 6:00 every night this week getting things situated, organizing parent forms, and lesson planning. I'm just spent! Tomorrow, I will be writing lesson plans all. day. long. Not fun at all!

Typical first-day-of-school picture! I got this shirt on clearance at Target for $9!


Dayna's first day of school ever as a teacher!


I have 16 students and the girl:boy ratio is 10:6. I have 2 hearing impaired/deaf students so I have an interpreter with me all the time. It's a great learning experience for me and I'm excited to learn some sign language this year! My class is good for the most part from what I've gathered this week, but they're very chatty so I'm having to be real strict and true to my word! Next week when we start diving into curriculum, they will be too busy to chat...or at least that's what I'm going for. :)

Here are some pictures of my classroom! Enjoy! (Some of the bulletin boards weren't finished when I took the pictures, that's why they look so plain. I have strategically color coordinated my learning boards for math, reading, and science but I forgot to take a picture of the math board-it's pink. I love matching!)










After school on the first day, my friend Jessica who teaches 4th grade was in my hallway and I said, "what are you doing for dinner?" And she responded, "nothin', wanna celebrate?" Ha! A.K.A. We didn't want to cook! So we told Dayna and she was all for it and we texted our friend Audra who used to work at Oscar Pope with me and Jessica last year to see if she wanted to come "celebrate" with us and she did so we ended up at Mt. Fuji for dinner and had hibachi rice and chicken! It was SO good!

Jessica and Audra have become good friends of mine and Dayna's and it's especially fun to have girls our age who are teachers like us who are also single without children. Ha! They're a lot of fun to hang out with!


This about sums up my post for the night. I really am just so tired. It will be so nice to sleep in tomorrow. I know Monday will be here before I know it!

It's been a while!

Well, it's safe to say I've been a bad blogger lately. When I say I've not had time, I'm telling the truth. I don't think I've been home before 7:00 p.m. since last week. I have put in long hours to get my classroom set up just the way I want it, including the most anal and OCD things! However, I'm not saying this as a complaint because I'm truly loving it! It's been so refreshing to finally get this classroom clean of all the old stuff and make it "mine." I'm going to school again tomorrow to finish up the final things (yeah right, final? Nothing is ever finally done as a teacher!) before Monday which is the first day of school! I'm excited...and a tad nervous, too! ;)

I promise to take pictures of my classroom tomorrow, especially because after Monday when the kids come-there's no tellin' how that room will look. Ha! So, you'll see pictures (and details) soon whether you want to or not! :)

Yesterday we had orientation from 9-11 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. I had a good turnout, including two new students! So, now I've got a total of 18 and there are only 5 students that I didn't meet! I'm looking forward to seeing my class as a whole on Monday! I'm entirely exhausted so I'm headed to bed. Remember those sleeping problems I talked about all summer long? Well, I'm happy to report that those sleeping problems have somehow disappeared. I wonder what it could be?! ;)

Back to Work!

It's back to work for this girl! It was a good first day back; there was a ton of new staff to meet! I still haven't met everyone, but hopefully will very soon! There is a new 5th grade teacher on my team, she's right next door to me, so I was looking forward to meeting her! She's young like me and this will be her 3rd year teaching, so she has experience to help me out, too! I didn't stay late like I usually do, it was rainy and Dayna and I go to church on Tuesday nights so after I gave the new 5th grade teacher a tour of our school, we headed home. I say "we" because Dayna and I are best friends, roommates AND colleagues so it only makes sense to drive together, especially in these beginning days. I'm sure there will be days during the school year where we'll drive separate depending on our schedules, but for now, it's nice! Isn't God so good to us in the friends he gives us?! :)

Our school is part of a School Improvement Grant (SIG) which includes us coming back earlier than other teachers in our county or state. So, we still have this week and next week before our students come back! This week mainly consists of trainings and next week will be more geared toward faculty meetings, meeting with our grade levels for planning, and working in our classrooms. We are given an hour for lunch each day so Dayna and I went to lunch at Palace Pizza with some other teachers. I enjoy lunch out with teachers on these days because once school starts, there's no leaving work to get lunch! At our school, we have to eat in the cafeteria with our students, so this is a big treat to us! Ha! Training was really good today! It's not one of those trainings where you just listen to someone talk and are just watching the clock 'til it's over. This was seriously good! We're adopting a new reading program, Action 100, that I had the privilege to see in action (no pun intended! ha!) back in May with our principal at another school in Florida. It is AMAZING. The kids are so engaged and they're reading books of their choice on their level. I cannot say enough good things about this program but I can say how excited I am to introduce my students to it very soon! I opened boxes containing 300 books today just for my classroom. A teacher's dream? I think so! :) Better yet, each teacher has a set with 300 books and they get rotated from classroom to classroom, so there are thousands of titles floating around our school! Reading is the key to education, so, we're all expecting great things from this program! Tomorrow is another full day of training for Action 100 and then in the afternoon I'm hoping to stay and finish getting all of my bulletin boards put up, at least the paper and border. I have 3 up already, and 5 more to go! I have a lot of bulletin boards! I also will take pictures soon so that my classroom posts aren't so boring like this one is without pictures! Sorry!

Tonight, during my devotion and prayer time, I got so emotional (in a good way!!) about my job and upcoming school year! I just became so humbled that God has chosen me for this career, for this school, for this grade level, and for these students-who I still don't know yet! I think teachers have such an important role in the lives of their students. Yes, that's cliche, but there's really no other way to say it! Teaching is a demanding, yet a so rewarding career. In 6 short months, I have found that to be true. I was thinking a lot about my most recent group of students too tonight and just prayed over their futures. I prayed for a breakthrough at our school this year and for a great, positive change to take place in the minds of our students. Most importantly, I thanked God for my job. I truly feel so fortunate. I could say that over and over again! I wouldn't be here without Him, guiding my footsteps and showing me His way. I'm so eager to begin this school year and am SO thankful to Him. He is the Giver of ALL good things!!!

A Realization

Over the last 20 hours or so, I have learned something new about myself. Here it is:

Take me out of my normal day-to-day routine and get a very ugly result.

I'll spare all of the details, but let me just say this: It's a very good thing I'm going back to work on Tuesday. I've just had some ups and downs emotionally this summer and I seriously think it's due to not being in my regular routine! Most people would die to have 2 months PAID time off, and trust me, I have enjoyed time off but I just feel like I have no purpose right now. It probably seems so silly, and truthfully, it is! I almost think that since I'm not married and don't have children-my job is my purpose right now. I have to remember, too, that I just moved to a brand new town and into a new apartment and although I love it here, it still is a new transition I'm adjusting to. In addition to all of this, I've struggled with being able to sleep well this summer for the first time in my entire life and that doesn't help the situation any!

I'm being bold by posting this, but my blog is mine so I guess I'm entitled to post my thoughts, right? :) And just as a disclaimer: I've not done anything crazy irrational or anything like that, but I'm just ready to return to my routine. It's also helped me realize that next summer I should make definite plans of things I want to accomplish or places I want to visit...maybe even start my Master's degree? Soon, I'll look back and think, "Kaitlin, were you serious about all of this?" but it'll also help me remember that God is always there for me and that He will bring me through this time of when I haven't been feeling my best!

Friday Fives!

Today's Friday Fives theme is 5 things you miss from childhood! If you want to read what other bloggers miss from their childhood, visit Beth's blog! I'm sure we all have things in particular and unique to our childhood that we miss. Here are mine!

1. Christmas!

Christmases at my house growing up were always SO fun. I am the oldest of four children, so there was always just so much excitement. Even when my brother and I were older and Santa didn't have the same meaning as it did when we were younger, we got to live through that magic still for a few more years with our younger sisters. The days leading up to Christmas, my parents pretended to be an elf named Lil' and they'd leave notes at our house reminding my brother and I to behave and things like that. We'd come home from school and that'd be the first thing we'd look for- "Lil's" note. Eventually, I figured out that an elf's handwriting also resembles the way my parents wrote with their left hands, since they're both right handed. Cool trick, Mom and Dad! Ha! I know I'll totally copy that "trick" with my children someday...I thought it was the coolest thing! (I even wanted to be an elf when I was little, but I guess being a teacher had to do. Ha!) I also loved how we spent Christmas, too. Even as a child, I knew it wasn't about the gifts, but rather the birth of Jesus. From the time I was in 3rd grade, I was in the youth choir and we always sang at the Christmas Eve mass. I LOVED that mass!! There was something so sacred about it. Then we'd go home and celebrate Christmas Eve and anticipate Christmas morning and spending time with the our cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles for Christmas dinner. Anyway...this is turning into a Christmas post in August, but this is the main thing I miss from my childhood. Such sweet and special memories!

2. My grandparents! I'm at my parents' house tonight and I'm using their computer an there aren't pictures of them on here. But they are a HUGE part of my childhood that I terribly miss! They were with me until I was 19, so I was fortunate to know them so well although I sincerely wish it could have been longer! They were the best grandparents and I always took the role of their first grandchild very seriously. :) Hey, they did too! I loved having sleepovers there with them-my grandma and I would always go shopping together and I would paint her nails. She always took such good care of me! They lived 5 minutes from us and I'm just so thankful to have been raised closely with my grandparents! I'll miss them until the day we're reunited in Heaven!

3. Full House Episodes!

I loved loved loved this show growing up. If you were born in the 80s/early 90s, this show fits right in with our generation! I actually saw some old (obviously) episodes today and their outfits are just hilariously outdated! The Olsen Twins are a few months older than me, so when I watch it now-it makes me feel old!

4. Road Trips/Family Vacations!

These road trips took place way before digital cameras came out, so I'd have to dig through family albums and scan pictures to show you, but man, those are some FUN memories! My mom's family is from Connecticut (my grandparents moved to FL when my mom was in college) but that's where we went almost every other summer. She has other family who lived in Massachusetts and Ohio and now New Hampshire, so we would drive in a mini-van, with our 2 cousins with our moms, since our dads worked during the summer (they'd usually fly up to visit us for a short weekend). So, 4 kids in my family plus our 2 cousins equaled 6 kids with 2 moms in a mini-van. Let me just tell you also-my sisters were carseat age, so that meant that my cousin Katrina and I double buckled in a seat, and sometimes my brother and our cousin Tim would double buckle in a seat. Safe, right?! No! Comfortable, right?! No! Legal, right?! No! Mind you, this was all the way north to Connecticut! My mom is a teacher and my aunt teaches pre-school so they were all teacher-ish and provided us with journals (which are hilarious to read through now) and flashcards and books and every now and then, we'd get some candy. Ha! There was one year we did this that my sisters were real young and so was Katrina, so our moms flew in a plane with them, and me, my brother, and Tim drove up with my dad and my uncle in a mini-van. Can you picture? Two grown men with 3 children under 10 in a mini-van? Haha! Luckily, there was no double-buckling this time! Let me tell you how different (and much more fun!) the trip was with our dads driving! Haha! We stayed at a rinky-dink hotel, South of the Border in SC, and the room smelled like cat litter so we had to move. We brushed our teeth with gatorade because the water didn't work. Kiernan and Tim broke a rain stick inside of a firework store and the pellets spilled everywhere and the dads just told us, "Let's go!" Ha! Thankfully, we all got to CT safely and in one piece, but one heck of a trip that was! Those are really, really fond memories in my childhood!

5. Birthday Parties!

I always looked forward to having my friends over to my house for a birthday party. My mom would do fun things like make a scavenger hunt for us which was always really fun. Some other things I remember doing include cucumber masks on our faces, decorating cookies, or painting our nails. I'd invite girls from my class and church choir and it was always a fun time!

These are just a few specific things I miss from childhood, but of course the care-free, childlike innocence is often missed too! Some days it would be really nice not to have to worry about paying bills or showing up to work early in the morning or meeting deadlines in college, but I remember all too often as a child wishing I was a "grown-up!" Now, I fully understand what people mean when they say, "Don't wish your life away!"

Classroom, Whitney, and Apartment Stuff

11:00 a.m. was mine and Dayna's target goal to be at OJP (Oscar J. Pope-name of our school) today to really dig into getting our classrooms ready for the school year. I guess I've not mentioned it on here, but my best friend and roommate, Dayna, is now also my colleague! She was hired as a 2nd grade teacher in early July and I'm SO excited for her! My principal had met her at our end of the year staff party because Dayna came with me, and she asked Dayna point blank, "Are you interested in OJP if I have anything open up?" So, it was an exciting thought to think we would be working together after spending the last three years as close friends in college! I think we'll really be able to help each other a lot! There's also a lot of new teachers who are young like us, so we are really looking forward to meeting them in just a few days!

Anyway...we got to OJP a little before noon after grabbing lunch and worked until 5! The secretary gave us our keys today so we were able to stay as late as we wanted since we had our keys. I first helped Dayna in her classroom (it was the first chance she had to be in it) rearranging furniture, getting her desks arranged, moving books to make room for storage of supplies and unloading a lot of things she had bought. After a while, we headed over to my room to continue putting up bulletin boards we started last week and getting some of my furniture moved around. Maintaining a classroom is A LOT OF WORK!!! Then, in two weeks, add close to 20 students to the mix, and the challenge becomes greater, but much more rewarding! :) I'm soooo excited for this brand new year. My first full year. Starting in January was exciting for sure, but it was challenging to take over a class, nonetheless 5th graders, in the middle of the school year. I know good things happened with that particular group of students, but I have confidence this year will be even better because of what I'll be able to establish from the get-go. I seriously could not be more excited! We return to work officially next Tuesday so I'll start taking some pictures then. My classroom is already coming along the way I've envisioned. I have much more time to get it set up to fit me than I did in January. I'm loving it! It's colorful and inviting...I would like to think my college professors would be pleased with it if they happened to walk in. :)

After OJP, I had some returns to take back to Target and Kirkland's. Then, Dayna and I were headed to meet Whitney for dinner! We ate at Fred's-Dayna and I had never been there before.

It was good...minus the ice cream! Whitney and I had it, and we think it was made from sour milk. Not good. I was disappointed! It was good to catch up with Whitney and hear how things are going in her life, as well as give her her birthday present!

When I saw this in the store, it was such a Whitney gift! She loves black and white. I looked for a "B" because that will soon be the initial of her married last name, but they didn't have any. I couldn't pass it up, so I went with the "W."
Whitney was sweet and got a housewarming gift for Dayna and I and our new apartment, but it's in my car downstairs (it was raining when I got home) so I'll take a picture once I hang it up! It's a nice framed piece that will fit perfectly on one of our walls. It matches perfectly with the colors we've chosen for our decor! Thanks for thinking of us, Whit! We enjoyed meeting up with you for dinner and are looking forward to our shopping trip after our first paycheck of the school year! :)

While we were at Fred's, nearing the end of our dinner, this party of about 6 people sat across from us. Two of the people were an interesting pair. The woman was wearing like a white beach romper (inside of the restaurant) and was missing her two front teeth. The man talked SO LOUDLY the entire time. Maybe he had problems with his hearing or something because I don't think he recognized how loud he was. You know like when you've got headphones in and you talk louder than you realize because your hearing is affected by the headphones? That's what it was like...the entire time. Whitney, Dayna, and I struggled to carry on a conversation because it felt like he was talking over us, that's how loud he was! Never a dull moment in this world! :)

I figured I'd post some more pictures of new things I've added to our apartment over the last few days. It's so exciting that it's all coming together and looking the way we want it. The furniture will make it complete! (P.S. Can I just say how NICE it will be to register at stores when I get married so that I don't have to buy everything I need? Haha!)


My Aunt Cathy bought this cross for me as a housewarming gift. She brought it last Saturday when she was here for the cookout. It goes perfectly near our front door, right above our alarm! I prayed over it before I hung it, that God would keep us protected and that he would protect and bless our comings and goings, and everyone else who enters through our door!

The wall hanging we bought to go in between two windows in our solarium. It's a good complement to the one we bought for the living room above the couch which you'll see in the next picture! I didn't get too good of pictures though, sorry for the glare!

This hangs above our couch in the living room. I bought both pieces at Kirkland's...love that store!!! Sorry the picture has a glare!

Here's two of our three windows in the solarium. I got these curtains for $13 a panel from Lowe's. They're like a gold/muted yellow color (a few different color tones actually) and have a soft spiral design on them which match perfectly with the pillows coming with our couch! I got the wall hooks for them at Ross for $2.99 and they come 2 in a pack!

This is something Dayna actually found at Marshall's a few months ago when we were in Tampa. It was just something fun to add to our decor. It doesn't really sit in this spot, but I had to get it in a place where there wouldn't be another glare! Ha!

I told Whitney I would take a picture so that she could see the wall hanging she got me for my birthday in its spot in my bathroom! I think it goes perfectly here! I love it!

Here is one of my fun animal print finds! I got this hand towel and a matching bath towel, both on clearance at Bed Bath n Beyond when we first moved in. It perfectly ties in the brown to my bathroom, but the animal print gives it a fun touch! (I think, anyway!)

A new vacuum that actually WORKS! Truth be told, the other vacuum we had was a garage sale find and it should have never even been sold (or bought! stupid us!) at a garage sale. In our defense, when we bought the old vacuum a year ago, we were still poor college students living on student loans, and a vacuum that cost less than $10 fit in our budget. Ha! I got this one less than a week ago from Wal-Mart and it was more than $10 but still affordable and you know what? It actually works! It does what it's supposed to and I love that I have a vacuum that works now! Especially because our apartment is bigger now and there's a lot more carpet that needs a good clean every now and then! :)

Tomorrow is Friday...and then the weekend...and then Monday...and then Tuesday, I'm officially back at work. I'm SO ready!

Saturday Cookout!

This past Saturday, some of my family came to my apartment for a cookout! My mom and my Aunt Cathy had the idea and I thought it was great! My Aunt Cathy and her family live in Orlando and mine is from Sarasota, so Lakeland (where I live now) is the perfect meeting place! Plus, this apartment is much bigger than my last, almost double the square footage! (For my graduation in January, close to 22 people fit inside my 720 sq ft apartment!) So anyway, everyone brought a side dish or two to share and I bought all of the meat, condiments and drinks so we were all set! I should have taken more pictures of the apartment, but I will do that soon. My sister Keleigh couldn't come because she was working but my brother and other sister came with my parents, my Aunt Diane and her son Matthew came, and my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ralph came with their son, Tim. So it wasn't the whole family, but hopefully that will happen at some point! I'd love to have them all here!

Matthew enjoying the TV at his oldest cousin's apartment. He had a lot more fun once his older guy cousins got here. :)

Korinne, Aunt Diane, Aunt Cathy and my mom all in the kitchen. (Wish my Aunt Jeannie could have been here, too! They will be in FL next weekend!)

Jack was invited, too! (He was neutered last week, so he definitely needed to be with the family and feel loved!) Our apartment complex is really pet friendly and a lot of people here have dogs so Jack was in heaven getting to be outside so much. He panted more than I have ever seen him pant. He's just precious!

Dayna and I are in the progress of a puzzle, and my family enjoyed taking turns working on it.

Aunt Diane! She is my godmother.

Uncle Ralph and my dad grilling! We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken. Yum!

My mom and Aunt Cathy chatting and eating.

Korinne and her "son" close by, who was fed by almost everyone here. Haha!

Our apartment complex was hosting a blood drive on Saturday and needed a certain amount of people to donate. My uncle and dad were in the game room playing a game of pool and someone approached them saying they only needed a few more people to reach their quota (it was close to 6:00 and they were leaving soon) so my mom and I decided we'd give. My mom used to donate a lot and this was my second time! The people inside has an interesting dynamic to them, to say the least! Ha!

Dayna came with us (she was going to donate but she had recently given plasma so she couldn't) so she took pictures for us and kept Korinne company. I was just doing this as a fake pose, reason why my hair is weird on the left side! Ha!

Blood donors! We got a pair of flip flops and some discount tickets somewhere, as well as had our names entered in a drawing to win a cruise. We'll see about that! :)

While I was getting taped up after my blood was finished, I was drinking a coke and it spilled all down my khaki shorts, on the back side. Lovely, right?! I was lucky I lived here and was able to change right away, hence my white shorts in the next picture! Now I think I like this shirt with the white shorts better! Ha! I'm such a girl!

By the time that was over, my family headed out to leave. We had a great time! Thanks for coming, everyone!

New Things

Thankfully, I have a wonderful job/career that also comes with a salary, which has enabled me to buy some new things for my new apartment as well as add to my "teacher wardrobe." I like to shop, but I love sale shopping. I rarely pay full price for anything because I'm not wealthy by any means, so sale and clearance shopping suits me well! Here are some new things I wanted to share!

I got a lovely piece at Kirkland's last night on clearance for $20! It was the only one in the store...and it was the letter "K" in the middle. Perfect? I think so, especially considering I was looking for something to go above my bed. Here is my bed before, without anything above.

And, here is what I added! I just love it. I'm working on finding the perfect photos fill those spots!

I recently bought a canvas with some coordinating color paints to match the colors of my room to do a monogram above my bed-but I think I'll just find another wall to put it on, because I just couldn't pass this up! While I was at Michael's getting the canvas, I also came across some pretty flowers and vases to add to my room decor. They were having a good sale, and every vase and flower I bought was 40% off! I probably only spent $20 on 2 vases and 3 flower bushels. Did I mention I love sale shopping?


The taller vase/flowers sit on my dresser and the white vase sits on my (new!) nightstand. I finally decided that I'm going to wait to buy a bedroom suite until I'm married. I think bedroom suites are beautiful, but also come with a not-so-beautiful price tag...so I'm going to put that purchase off for a while and it'll be something I'll be able to pick out with my husband someday! I bought the nightstand at Wal-Mart and it matches perfectly with my comforter and bookshelf. I had really been wanting a nightstand. My wonderful roommate and friend put it together for me. Thanks, Dayn!!!

Another one of my fun finds includes this cute, trendy lamp! I bought it at Old Time Pottery in Orlando (one of my new favorite stores!) It was $15 so not too bad at all! I was also proud because I bought it without a sample/picture of my comforter colors with me, and it still matches quite nicely! It's a perfect nightstand lamp!

If you haven't picked it up through these pictures already, the "theme" colors for my room are brown and green. I really liked this comforter set as soon as I saw it, and that kind of set the trend. It's been easy to find stuff to match and decorate with which is always helpful! Here are some things in my bathroom...


(Whitney, because I know you read this, you'll be happy to know that the mint-greenish wall hanging you got me for my birthday is hanging right above those towels! I'll get a picture and put it on here so you can see! It matches perfectly in my bathroom and I love it! Now let's get together so I can give you your birthday present!)

Summer shopping wouldn't be complete without new clothes, right?! All of these things can be worn to work, too, which is sort of what I was going for! I love argyle (and probably shouldn't buy any more of it) and found this at New York & Co. for $9.99!

I got this red dress from Ross. It wasn't on sale but I just love the detail on the neckline and I don't have anything like it!

(Here's a pic of the neckline for a more clear picture.)

I loved this skirt! I'm into animal print lately (never have been before) but I feel it's still subtle enough (I'm not a "loud" person at all when it comes to clothing!) I plan on finding a lime green or teal shirt to wear with it! I got it at Ann Taylor Loft on clearance! I like that store because they have a petite section! Ha! :)


One last thing...here is the welcome mat Dayna and I found at Target. The sticker on it was a clearance sticker for $9.08. When I checked out at the register, it was $3.24. I'm tellin' ya...I'm a sale shopper!


Well, that's all to share for now! Our apartment is much more put together now...just waiting on our furniture on layaway at Rooms To Go-we have to pay it for it first. Just a small detail, right? I'll post updates to our lovely new home as they come!